Method of attaching pronged fasteners



June 10, 1924.- 1,497,339 E. MCCANN I METHOD OF ATTAC HING PRONGED FASTENERS Filed Aug. 23. 1923 Patented June 16, 1924:. i

- TAT JS PATENT FICE.,.v EDWARD MCCANN, or oiiioeeo, 'iniirnois, assienoa To sCovILL v COMPANY, or wATEaBuaY, CONNECTICUT, A. CORPQR'A'IION orCoivnno'riCUn METHOD or ATTACHING ri-toivenio rasrniiiias.

7 Application filed August 23, 1923. Serial Noi 658,967.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, EDWARD MCGANN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State ofIllinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvenieiit'in Methods of Attaching ProngedFasteiiers, of which the followingis a full, clear, and exact description. v In setting-fasteners, 's uch'as carriage curtain fasteners, rug fasteners,' and others, in which one element of the fastener is providedwith attaching prongs adapted to extend through the material to which the fasteiiei eleiiient is applied and through suitable openings in a washer placed upon the side of theinaterial opposite to that upon which the fastener element is mounted, it is customary to first bend over and then flatten down or clinch these prongs upon "the turned in and flattened down upon the washer, so as to conform to ,itsouter face,

by a single operation, as I will proceed now to explain and finally claim. w I In the acco npany ig drawings' illustratiiig the invention, in'the several figuresof which like parts are similarly. designated, Figure l is a'plan view of the outer face'flof m washer. Fig. Ziisja plan viewfof the reverse face ofthe washer from that shown in" Fig.1; i'g. 3ifisfa section taken inthe plane of line 3"f3 -of Fig. l and looking in the, direction of the-arrows, Fig. 4- is section oii the'li'ne' 4i'-4 of Fig.1]. "Figjfi is a back'view ofon'e type of pronged memher] for useflwith which the washer fOf my invention is adapted, and Figdis. a side. elevation thereof. Figs/7,8 and 9 show insectional elevation and v senii-diagra ninat washer by hammering them with a liandically the attaching OP6T a,tl 0n Whgnmy 75 tool. I I washer is used. I ff, So far as I am aware, fiat washers, that My washer, as shown in the drawings,

is washers having a flat or plane surface only,have been usedfor this purpose, I and it has been found impractical to turn in and flatten down the prongs of the fastener element upon such a washer with less than j the two operations last enumerated.

' Obviously this use of two separate operations for the mere purpose of clinching the'prongs upon the washer for thepui'pose of attaching the fastener element, is time and labor consuming and tends both to slow up productionand increase the cost of articles upon which jsucli fastener elements areused. j 9 l It is the object of'iiiy invention to provide 1 a method of attaching pronged fastener elements whereby the prongs of the fastener element nay be turned in and flattened down or clinched upon the attaching washer by a single operation, therebymakingit possible' to attachfsuch pronged fastener eleineiitsby automatic. machinery and eliniinat; ng" the e essi y ,0ii the eras 'ia .L attachiiig'i'nethod now iniisel" ,f .T,1 e... n. en i9, i On stsin a meth a a ehiiigraaeners of the typepoin r s ng es; t a aaa i ing'wal'lfer',"tliewashef being of ooncavoconvex conformation, whereby by use therewith of a setting plunger or die, or other implement of a conformation coniplemental to the face of the Washer the attaching prongs of the pronged member may be nime'niher' andanattach coiiipi ises'a flat outer or lperipheral 'edge 1, anda tubular, preferably cylindrical, inner proj ection orbarrel "2, surrounding the open ing 3 through which the stud or other" connecting member 'offthe"coiiiplenierital part of the fastener to. be attached mayl passi will he noted that the barrel {is forn edwith straight sides and a curved edge 2.fTlie edge 2 is given this curve so "that the washer will not .bind upon the fstudfor other o necting v member y during application andxreiiiOy allfOf; the fastener, f j} The outeredge l provides fa'fsiir faceto bear against the material to which the f'a's-- tener is attachedil", I

Between. the fiat" oiite'r edge 'l' andl barrel 2 the washer is'i'i i adeof eoncavoeoaveg conformat on, as shown at if and this Concavocon vex. portion is provided with recesses 5,'equal inl'nuinber to the number f pro g t --.r le membei f a e and. u fi en lyi dep eqd'i e e th.

the outer surfa c'ejl f the ort niodate t efthi ness of the fastener member of the general type for which my washer is designed, this member comprising a socket 7 containing, ordinarily, some type of spring or other snap-action device for engaging the head of any usual or approved stud or other complemental fastener part passed through the opening 3 in the attaching washer and through the opening 8 in the back of the fastener member. In order to attach a fastener member of this type, as above pointed out, the member is provided with prongs 9 adapted to be passed through the material to which the fastener is to be applied and through the openings 6 in the washer and to be thereafter turned in, that is depressed toward each other, and clinched upon the washer.

Referring now to Figs. 7, 8 and 9, I show a die 10 recessed at 11 to receive the fastener member, socket portion down, and with its prongs projecting upwardly. The material to which the member is to be applied is then placed over the fastener member either by forcing the prongs through it or previously providing openings in the material to register with the prongs, and then the washer is positioned over the material with the prongs 9 extending through the openings 6, all as shown in Fig. 7. Obviously an opening is provided for reception of the barrel 2. As shown in Fig. 8, the plunger 12 having a face provided with a concave surface 13, complemental tothe convex portion 4 of the washer, is then lowered and the ends of the prongs coming in contact with this concave surface 13 will be turned in or con verged, and further lowering or descent of the plunger will force the prongs down to fully clinched position within the recesses 5, as shown. in Fig. 9.

It will thus be seen that by the simple expedient of a washer of concavo-conveX conformation, and the use therewith of a setting plunger having a concave face complemental to the concavo-convex portion of the washer, I accomplish in a single operation the complete, rapid, and eflicient clinching of the prongs of the fastener members upon the washer and obviate the necessity for two operations in attaching fasteners of this type.

It is to be understood that I consider various changes in the particular formation of the washer as within the scope of my invention, the invention being directed to the method for attaching pronged fasteners by the use of a washer having a convex face against which the prongs will lie when in clinched position, as pointed out in the following claims.

What I claim is 1. A method of attaching fasteners of the type comprising a pronged member and a washer with which the prongs of said member coact, consisting in supporting the fastener member with itsprongs outstanding, arranging the material to which the fastener is to be attached upon the pronged face thereof, applying a washer of convex conformation upon said material with its convexity outward and in position to receive said prongs, and clinching said prongs upon the convex face of the washer by a single movement of a setting implement provided with a prong engaging face of a conformation substantially complemental to the convexity of the face of the washer.

2. A method of attaching fasteners of the type comprising a pronged member and a washer with which the prongs of said member coact, consisting in supporting the fastener member with its prongs outstanding, arranging the material to which the fastener is to be attached upon the pronged face thereof, applying a washer having a convex face provided with prong receiving recesses upon said material in position to receive said prongs, and clinching said prongs upon the convex face of the washer and in said recesses by a single movement of a setting implement provided with a prong engaging face of a conformation sub stantially complemental to the convexity of the face of the washer.

3. A method of attaching fasteners ofthe type comprising a pronged member and a washer with which the prongs of said member coact, consisting in supporting the fastener member with its prongs outstanding, arranging the material to which the fastener is to be attached upon the pronged face thereof, applying a washer having a convex face provided with prong receiving recesses upon said material with its convexity outward and in position to receive said prongs, and clinching said prongs upon the convex face ofthe washer and in said recesses by a single movement of a setting implement provided with a prong engaging face of a conformation substantially complemental to the contour of the face of the washer with the exception of the recesses therein.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 16th day of August A. D. 1923 EDWARD MoCANN 

